Fear of Myself
by Carishio
Summary: Once a confident and strong huntress in training, Yang Xiao Long is a shell of her former self thanks to Adam Taurus. Now equipped with a robotic arm, she fights a daily battle with herself to not succumb to the daily fears she faces. Depressed and distant from her team, Weiss Schnee makes it her mission to bring back the Yang she knows and show her that everything will be okay.


**Chapter 1: Reunion and Resolve**

The road to Mistral and Haven was a long one for the four members of Team RWBY.

All four arrived at different times, with two of them even running into each other along the way.

Ruby was the first to arrive with the remaining members of Team JNPR and her Uncle Qrow, albeit not without a few troubles along the way. There was the Tyrian fiasco where Ruby and co. found out about the history of the maidens and the relics, however they also had to deal with Qrow's deteriorating health due to the poison from his duel with the scorpion faunus, as well as their encounter with that behemoth Grimm.

Had it not been for the help of the Mistraltian military, things might've went a lot differently in the worst way possible…

The second and third person to arrive at Haven Academy were Weiss and Yang, who had met up before arriving here.

After Weiss had made her daring escape from the Schnee Mansion in Atlas and hopped aboard an airship headed to Mistral, she wound up meeting with Winter at their stationed base.

After spending a few weeks there, a particular blonde beauty rolled up on her motorcycle (much to the dismay of the guards at the front) looking for directions on how to get to Mistral. At first, the guards were ready to apprehend her on the grounds of trespassing on military grounds, but thankfully Weiss had caught wind of the situation before it could escalate.

The two spent a couple of days catching up and exchanging stories, and then eventually decided to head to Haven on bike together. As sad as Weiss was to leave Winter after just getting to see her again, she was the one that actually urged her on to go.

Winter thought it was better for her to seek out the rest of her friends and reunite with them. The four of them had been through a lot, and she felt that what was important was that they were together.

With no argument from Weiss, she packed her bags once more and headed off to Haven on the back of Yang's bike. The trip itself took them about a week, and they apparently had arrived some time after Ruby and her little crew has made themselves comfortable in their new home.

The last member of Team RWBY to arrive was Blake, and in tow was not only Sun, but also her mother and father. The four girls reveled in the fact that they were back together and reunited, ecstatic to meet the Belladonna's and be in each other's company once more.

Tears were shed, a small little party was held, and the girls vowed that they wouldn't be leaving each other's side any time soon. They were sisters in arms, ready to take on the evil that was Cinder and the White Fang together.

However, while all seemed fine and good, big decisions needed to be made, and there was still trouble in "paradise".

After months on the road, Ruby had truly realized how inexperienced not only she was, but all of them were. At the end of the day, they were still teenagers with a little under a year of actual training at Beacon. There was still a lot they didn't know about the world, and that had caused a lot of issues for her and JNR.

So, Ruby proposed that they continue their education for now here at Haven Academy. With them now heading into their second year, she felt that not only would it be beneficial for all of them to learn more, but they could serve as makeshift protectors and wait for Cinder and the Fang to show up. With this being their next destination from their information, it only made sense to wait it out and ambush them when the time seemed right.

Neither Weiss, Blake or Yang seemed to disagree with the thought process, and Team RWBY was back in business as second years at Haven.

While that might've been the one external problem they had suffered, there were still quite a few internal ones to deal with as well.

Even though they had reunited, water was still not under the bridge. Blake had apologized to Yang and the rest about leaving after the fall, but there was still clearly tension that needed to be resolved. Nobody expected a quick makeup, but it was still a glaring problem that would affect them and their chemistry.

Speaking of Yang as well, it was clear that she wasn't alright as well, no matter how often she said she was okay.

The first person to realize this issue was Weiss, and that had come during the time they spent together when heading to Haven.

The heiress had noticed that there was a change in her demeanor and body language as they talked during this time. Their drives would often be filled with long periods of silence, and while that was normally common for most since people focused on the road, it was unusual for Yang.

She was talkative and loved conversation. It was one of her defining characteristics, and Weiss certainly thought that she'd want to know everything that had happened in the time they were apart. Maybe she was worrying about nothing, but she thought it would be best to mention it to Ruby.

Just like she had expected though, Weiss knew she was right.

Since classes had started a little less than a month ago, there was a clear change in her. Often she would doze off into another world seemingly, not paying attention and just being out of it completely.

Sometimes when they tried striking conversation with her, Yang would be somewhat dismissive, replying with one word answers from time to time.

The worst thing though in the minds of the three were the mood swings. Sometimes, she would be her normal, warm,happy self that the three had grown to know and love. But sometimes she'd seem cold, distant, and most of all angry.

An aura exuded off of her in times like this where they knew not to bother her, but the three girls couldn't just stand by and do nothing. They were concerned and worried for her, but none of them were sure what to do.

Ruby wasn't very good in situations like these, and when she tried to make things better she often felt that she said the wrong thing and made it worse than before. It was frustrating to know that she couldn't help her sister when she needed her most, which often made her upset as well.

While Blake probably understood best what Yang was going through, she herself was too ashamed to say anything.

In her eyes, she was the reason that Yang was in this current state of mind. Had it not been for her coming to Beacon and leading Adam and the Fang there, Yang would still have an arm. To top it off, she had ran away after the whole ordeal when the blonde needed emotional support from her friends, which couldn't have made things better at all.

"What right do I have to say something to her about how she's acting?" Blake often thought to herself. When a troublesome situation arose as a result of this, she often tensed up and tried to avoid making eye contact, looking away with an embarrassed and troubled look on her face.

With those two out of it, that left Weiss to deal with the issue. The heiress had no problem doing so, but at first she was a little apprehensive about it.

She felt that she was never one to offer great emotional support when people needed it, and that mainly stemmed from the fact that she was too emotionally distant. Weiss showed emotion, but rarely so due to her upbringing. It pained her, especially when she meant something completely different than what her body suggested.

She had developed the title of Ice Queen because of this, a title she hated with a burning passion. She felt that it didn't accurately sum up who she was as a person, because she herself was not mean or cold as much as she acted the part.

While most people that didn't know her referred to her as that, one of the first people to stand up for her when she was called that was Yang.

* * *

It had happened during lunch when Beacon was still around. The two of them were sitting together enjoying their meal and discussing their classes before two guys came over.

The two had approached them at the table and started making idle chat with them, and one of them brought up the term.

"You're Beacon's Ice Queen right? You've got quite the reputation around here from what we've heard."

"Turning down guys one after another supposedly. I guess we should've expected that from a Schnee right? They probably aren't good enough for the Ice Queen."

The two boys joked and laughed, but on the other side of the table Weiss sat there mortified, her cheeks flush with embarrassment and her face distraught. Was that how she was viewed by others? A cold hearted queen stuck in a high castle, turning down men she wasn't interested in because of her last name?

While the two guys hadn't caught a hint, Yang certainly had. In the middle of their laughing, a hard slam came down on the lunch table, shaking the plates and silverware on it and catching the attention of the two boys.

That hard pound came from the blonde, and after they both looked over at the two her gaze shifted upwards, her lilac eyes now a burning red.

"She has a real name you know." Yang snarled, disgust and anger clearly written all over her face.

"Hey chill out blondie. We were just jo-"

"Well I don't see it as a joke, and I don't think Weiss does either. So, if you'll kindly do us a favor and take your "jokes" to another table, I think that would be greatly appreciated." she stated firmly, leaning forward in her seat and glaring at the two boys.

The both of them glared back at Yang, her not budging an inch or backing down. A few people had looked over to see what was going on at this point, and after an intense minute, the boys grabbed their trays and left.

"Come on, we'll go sit somewhere else where we don't have to deal with a queen and her beast."

"Seriously. Some people just don't know how to take a joke…"

Once the two left, and Yang had calmed herself down, she sat back down in her seat and looked over at Weiss. She was sitting quietly, eating her food with a timid and clearly upset look on her face.

Yang felt terrible for the situation that had occurred, never remembering seeing her act this way before. A large pit of guilt sat in her stomach for the rest of the meal, as all she could do was sit there quietly and pick at her food.

Once their meal was done, the two cleaned up their dishes and headed out of the cafeteria and back toward their dorm.

The dorms from the lunchroom was about a ten minute walk through the courtyard, but Weiss had silently decided she wanted to take the longer route that had less people there to see.

For about half the time, they walked quietly next to each other, the only sounds being heard were the clicking of their shoes on pavement. Weiss' hands were locked together in front of her, and her gaze firmly planted on the ground instead of ahead.

After making it through the courtyard and turning the corner to take the quieter route, Weiss soon felt an arm wrap around her shoulder and pull her in close.

She was thrown off guard by this and jumped a bit after feeling this, but when she looked to her left she found Yang tenderly holding her close to her side. Her arm rubbed the side of her shoulder gently. She let her get comfortable in her grip before continuing walking, deciding it would still be best to remain quiet. If Weiss wanted to say something, she would, and Yang would help in any way possible.

Now in her blonde friend's embrace, she looked up at her as they walked, tears beginning to bubble up in her eyes. Feeling her being watched, Yang looked down at Weiss and offered her a warm smile, continuing to rub the side of her arm as they continued to head down the path back to the dorms.

Weiss never forgot that day, as that was the one that sealed in her mind and heart that Yang was a true friend. She felt before that there were issues between them, especially because of how poorly she treated Ruby before becoming a team and even after that. But this gesture showed her that the blonde had put that water under the bridge and was ready to move on from it. If she was, Weiss was ready to do so as well.

In the present day however, it was now Weiss' turn to help Yang. With the struggles and hardships she had faced these past months alone, the heiress vowed to try her best to help anyway she could to repay the favor Yang had done for her all that time ago.

* * *

 **Hey guys! So this is my first fic that I've posted or even written in quite some time. Quite honestly, a lot of stuff hit me at once that really prevented me from doing what I wanted to do, but now I feel confident enough to post my work again and hopefully get back on track! This story is going to be based off of a headcannon I came up with a long time ago, so I really hope you guys enjoy the route I take it down! See you all in Chapter 2**

 **All characters and places belong to Rooster Teeth**


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